Without proper spawning habitat and refuge habitat, they will need to be stocked annually. They don't have a rolling spawn like BG, so if the correct habitat isn't there for them, they won't pull off a successful spawn. In a 1 acre pond, without correct habitat for them, I have stocked 200 adult GSH and they did not establish in the pond, There were none observed a year later. These were fish that were between 9" and 11" in length.
In a customers pond that has the proper habitat for them to reproduce (but no LMB, only HSB, SMB BG and YP as predators for the first 4-5 years, now there are HBC in there that are doing exceptionally well) they are doing VERY well. So well that he catches and removes a few hundred adults in the winter when ice fishing. The HSB and Hybrid Crappie are doing exceptionally well in his pond due to having forage fish in the area of the pond that they occupy. The SMB, after the introduction of Northern SMB vs the Neosho SMB that were in there, are doing very good too.
We stocked the same amount of FHM and GHS initially. . There is habitat for both to reproduce. After year 3, there were no more FHM to be found.
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